


Tell Me a Story

by mldrgrl



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-22
Updated: 2016-04-22
Packaged: 2018-06-03 17:09:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6619147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mldrgrl/pseuds/mldrgrl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scully has a request for Mulder while she waits for her flight home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tell Me a Story

Scully dropped her carry-on bag onto an empty seat in the waiting area at her gate. The arrivals and departures screen listed her flight as on-time, boarding at 8:40 and leaving at 9:05. Red eye flights were not her favorite, but she needed to get back to work and she just wanted to be home. Holidays and family were exhausting.

 

Checking her watch, Scully pulled out her cell phone from her bag and pressed her speed dial number 1. Mulder picked up on the second ring, and though she could tell she hadn’t woken him, she could also tell he had gotten comfortable for the night by the slow and gravelly hum in his voice. Her ear tingled from it.

 

“Mulder, it’s me.”

 

“Hey, Scully. Where are you?”

 

“At the airport. Just wanted to let you know my flight gets in around five a.m. I’ll see you at the office later on, but it’ll depend on how much sleep I get on the plane.”

 

“Mmkay, Scully. Did you have a nice Christmas?”

 

“Well, I didn’t do any ghost hunting.” She sat back in her seat, smiling to herself.

 

“I’m sorry to hear it was so miserable.”

 

She smiled again and then grew quiet, picking at a speck of lint on her knee.

 

“Scully?”

 

“Will you tell me a story?”

 

“You want a story?”

 

“I’m boarding in about ten minutes.”

 

“And you’re in need of some pre-flight entertainment?”

 

“No, I just…I’ve missed your voice.”

 

A brief silence followed. Scully’s cheeks and the back of her neck grew warm. Her lips parted, but her breath caught and it was just as well because she couldn’t think of anything else to say.

 

“Do you know the story of the Sky Girl?” he asked.

 

“No, I can’t say I do.”

 

“It’s an Algonquin legend.”

 

“Tell me.”

 

“One day one of the great hunters of the tribe, Algon, was out hunting and he came across a strange circle cut into the grass. Curious about what caused it, he hid in some nearby bushes and waited. After awhile, a great willow basket descended from the sky. Inside the basket there were twelve beautiful women.

 

“The women got out of the basket and began to sing and dance. All the women were very beautiful, but for Algon, it was love at first sight when he saw the youngest of the twelve. He ran out from his hiding spot in the bushes, hoping to steal her for himself, but before he reached the circle, the women quickly got back into their basket and flew back into the sky.

 

“Three more times Algon tried to catch the object of his affections, but all three times he failed. His love grew and so did his determination, so he came up with a plan. First he found himself a hollow tree trunk where there lived a family of mice. Next, he searched his medicine bag for some appropriate charms and magicked himself into a mouse. Then, all he had to do was wait.

 

“The next day, when the women arrived and began to sing and dance, all the mice, including Algon, ran out from the hollow around their feet. The women screamed and stomped on the mice, killing them all, but Algon had already turned himself back into a human and made off with the woman he hoped to make his bride.

 

“Once they were back at his village, the woman grew to love him. They were married and had a son and were happy for some time.”

 

“Why doesn’t she have a name?” Scully interrupted.

 

“She’s the Sky Girl.”

 

“Yes, but Algon has a name, why is she only known as ‘the woman.’ If it’s her story, shouldn’t she at least have a name?”

 

“Fine, Gertrude the Sky Girl.”

 

“Mulder.”

 

“What do you want her name to be?”

 

“I don’t know, but Gertrude isn’t very…celestial.”

 

“Do you want to argue about names or do you want to hear the story?”

 

“I want to hear the story.”

 

“So, Algon and…Aurora were happy together, but Aurora began to get more and more homesick as the days went on. She spent her days searching the sky, thinking only of her sisters and her mother and father. Finally, it became too unbearable for her any longer and she secretly wove herself a magic willow basket. When the basket was finished, she took her son to the circle in the grass and went back to her family in the sky.”

 

Mulder’s story was suddenly interrupted by an announcement that flight A326 from San Diego to Washington DC was now boarding. Scully gave a disappointed sigh and stood up.

 

“I have to go,” she said. “Will you tell me what happens tomorrow?”

 

“I’ll save your place.”

 

“Aurora is much better, by the way.”

 

“See you in the morning, Scully.”

 

They hung up without saying goodbye and Scully boarded her flight. She tried to sleep, but only managed to drift into a weak state of unconsciousness for a few brief periods of time. They landed about fifteen minutes early and she took a cab home, hoping to get in a few hours of sleep before she had to head into the office. Leaving her bag and jacket at the door, she headed straight for her room and then stopped in the doorway.

 

Quietly, Scully stepped out of her shoes and crawled onto her bed, instantly disturbing her sleeping partner who woke with a jerk and a sharp breath.

 

“Caught you red handed, Goldilocks,” Scully said. She relaxed her body over his, leaned down to kiss his cheek, and smoothed her hand over the top of his head.

 

“Welcome home,” Mulder mumbled, closing his eyes again.

 

“What are you doing in my bed, Mulder?”

 

“Keeping it warm for you.”

 

“Mmhm.”

 

Scully slid off of Mulder and turned her back to him as he rolled over and pulled her against his chest. He picked up her arm and rotated her wrist towards himself to look at her watch. She wiggled her hips in annoyance and he laced his fingers with hers and hugged her close. She hummed her approval as he nuzzled her neck with his face. Already on the verge of sleep, she felt herself slipping even closer, but she wasn’t quite ready to let go.

 

“What happened to Algon and Aurora?” she asked.

 

“Mmm…”

 

“I won’t sleep until I know.”

 

Mulder took in a deep breath and his exhale ruffled Scully’s hair. “Aurora went back to her family in the sky,” he murmured. “Many years passed. Every day Algon went back to the circle, hoping his wife and son would return. He grew old with waiting, while up in the sky, his son was growing into a man. Their son began to ask questions about his father and his questions made Aurora ache with longing to see her husband again.

 

“Aurora’s father was the chief of the sky people and she went to him to seek his advice. He told Aurora and her son to go back to the Earth, but also demanded they return, with Algon, and identify for him all the defining features of the Earth animals.

 

“Aurora and her son got into their willow basket and returned to the circle to find Algon waiting for them. He agreed to return to the sky with his wife and son and was very eager to please the sky chief and hurried to collect the items he wanted. A bear claw, feathers of the eagle, the hawk, and the falcon, raccoon teeth, and the horns and hides of the deer. He placed the items in his medicine bag, which he humbly turned over to the sky chief.

 

“Pleased, the sky chief distributed the offerings amongst his people and gave Algon and Aurora the first choice. They chose the feather of the falcon, and the chief declared that they should always be free to travel between sky and Earth, turning Algon and Aurora into falcons. Their descendants continue to fly over valleys and prairies today.”

 

Scully was barely awake by the time Mulder finished. She wanted to thank him and tell him it was a beautiful story, but she found it impossible. After a long pause, she felt Mulder’s lips touch her neck and his arm tightened around her.

 

“Sweet dreams, Scully,” he whispered.

 

The End

 

 


End file.
